Tracy Baim

Hannah Free House Parties

Hannah Free House Parties

Hannah Free is the story of an independent spirit and the woman she calls home. It stars Sharon Gless (Cagney and Lacey, Queer As Folk).

House Parties, featuring food, drinks, and some of the cast and crew.

Win Hannah Free autographed prizes, be the first to see the Hannah Free trailer, and much more!

Contact the hosts listed for full details, address and party themes, including screening of classic Sharon Gless TV characters.

The goals of the House Oarties are to create buzz and raise finishing funds.

For the Guests

Preview/trailer of Film

Chance to Win Raffles Prizes

-- Autographed script (1)

-- Hannah Free logo hats (5)

-- Hannah Free in Claudia Allen’s book, signed by Allen (5)

-- Autographed Sharon Gless photo (1)

-- One pair of tickets to the Chicago film opening (2)

Grand Prizes

Every guest and host signed up at the House

Parties will be entered to win:

-- Hannah Free Director’s Chair!

-- Cast & Crew Autographed T-Shirt 

-- Chicago film opening VIP Tickets (2), All-access pass chance to meet Sharon Gless (pending her travel schedule)

See www.HannahFree.com

Chicago Events

Sat., March 14

Kick-Off party with Writer Claudia Allen and Editor Sharon Zurek, Saturday, March 14 as part of the reception prior to the monthly Dyke Delicious series at Chicago Filmmakers, 7-8 p.m., Pam Grier’s Coffy film shown 8 p.m. ($10 cover for Coffy). Trailer shown, prizes, food, fun, 5243 N. Clark, 2nd floor, www.chicagofilmmakers.org

Sunday, March 15

at 2 p.m. in conjunction with the Amy Speace House Concert

Host:  Lee Dorothy

Joliet, IL 60435

RSVP: LDorothy@aol.com

Sunday, March 15

Host: Carla Cenker

4 to 6 p.m., North Magnolia, Chicago

RSVP to:  carla@carlacares.com 

Thursday, March 19

Labrys Chicago Presents 

4 Women Only "The Trio" @ the Velvet Rope
Doors open 7 p.m., Show 8 p.m.
Special concert with Veronica May, Jess Yoakum, Christine Kent, Jess Godwin
$25 will get you in the door for the night - AND get you wine, beer and fabulous Velvet Rope buffet! What more could you ask for? There will be a cash bar for mixed drinks as well. (A portion of the door goes to Hannah Free.)
AMPLE parking right across the street
The Velevet Rope 
728 Lake St, Oak Park, IL 60301, (708)358-8840
See www.LabrysChicago.com

Friday, March 20

Hosts: Katie Jacobson, 

David Strzepek + Stewed Tomatoes

7-10 p.m., North Washtenaw (1/2blk north of Logan) Chicago

RSVP: kt2m8to@yahoo.com or david@totalpromote.com

Saturday, March 21

Host: Karen Giocondi 

2-5 p.m.

Scot’s Bar, 1829 W. Montrose, Chicago

RSVP to Karen@BLSRECORDS.com or call 773-583-4965

Saturday, March 21

Hosts: Diane Dodin & Claire Davies 

6-9 p.m. in the Austin area of Chicago

RSVP to d_dodin@yahoo.com

Sunday, March 22

Host: Susan Martin

noon-3 p.m., North Side, Chicago

RSVP: astrokitty86@yahoo.com

Thursday, March 26

Hosts: Amy Walsh & Susana Darwin

5:30-8 p.m.

On East Randolph Street, Downtown Chicago

RSVP to: eight.east@gmail.com

Out-of-town parties: 

Sat., March 7

6-9:30 p.m., Riviera Beach, Fla., 

hosted by Toni Jr. and Janis,  

www.meetup.com/BLASTwpb/calendar/list

Sat., March 15

Ladies 2000 St. Patty’s Women’s Party, a monthly Philadelphia-area event, 3 pm, www.ladies2000.com, Taylor's in Cherry Hill, 2310 Marlton Pike (Route 70), Cherry Hill, NJ, 08002

Sat., March 21

1:30-3:30 p.m., Madison, Wisc.,  Bartell Theatre, 113 E. Mifflin, Madison, Wisc., hosted by Sarah Newport, sarmarg@tds.net

See www.HannahFree.com 

for additional parties to be added.

Events are free, and include food & beverages, but a fundraising pitch will be done. 

There is a cover charge for the Philly event.

Based on Claudia Allen’s award-winning stage play, Hannah Free is directed by Wendy Jo Carlton.

Executive producers are Tracy Baim and Claudia Allen. See www.HannahFree.com

Sharon Gless will not be able to attend these House Parties, but other Chicago-area cast and crew are expected at Chicago house parties.

Want to hose a party? Contact info@hannahfree.com

Dennehy's Show Goes On

Thanks to my dad being a big theater fan, I sometimes go to shows I normally wouldn't first choose to see. Such was the case tonight (Feb. 17) in seeing the Goodman Theatre's Desire Under the Elms, part of an amazing slate of plays as part of the festival of Eugene O'Neill plays. Film, TV and stage star Brian Dennehy plays Ephraim Cabot, and TV and film star Carla Gugino was in her last night as Abbie Putnam. 

I do love theater, and especially the Goodman, but am not a big fan of macho American white male playwrights. However, I can appreciate terrific acting, writing and staging, and Desire Under the Elms is a wonderful work of art. The sets are amazing, with a house coming down from the rafters that would make the Wicked Witch scream. Big boulders, great lighting, and intricate timing of sets moving in and out, up and down.

Near to the end of the play, Dennehy, who is 70 and playing 76, lost his balance in a tricky area of the stage, and he fell 5-7 feet straight down the side of a platform, onto the lower stage. The audience was in shock as he landed hard on his shoulder, and his cast mate Pablo Schreiber (playing Eben Cabot) came to his aide. The house lights came up, but old pro Dennehy waved them off and said something like "Let's go." 

Never mind the pain he must have felt, he went on -- he joked quickly but went right back into character. The audience applauded. He had more lines, and several more very physical scenes, including a fall backwards. And rightfully, he and the others drew a standing ovation at the end of the play.

It was a great lesson in theater and life. The show must go on. You sometimes fall down, fail, or lose. But you pick yourself up, bruises and all, and keep performing your lines.

Check out the O'Neill fest -- I am especially curious about the lengthy Strange Interlude performed by The Neo-Futurists. I don't think I could take more than five hours of O'Neill, but I would highly recommended it anyway!

A statement released from Goodman Feb. 18:

At the Tuesday, February 17, 7:30pm performance, Brian Dennehy (who
portrays Ephraim Cabot in Desire Under the Elms) tumbled from the raised
platform of the set down to the set's main level in the scene during
which Ephraim thanks God for his newborn baby. According to Mr. Dennehy,
"It was a stupid mistake. I was trying to play beyond my own means, and
my knees don't allow the lateral movement I used to have. I lost my
balance, and took a spill."  Mr. Dennehy, who fell a couple of feet down
while holding the swaddled infant (a prop), immediately collected
himself and joked with the stunned audience "The baby is not injured!"
He insisted the show go on, and he finished the performance to a
standing ovation.  Though bruised and sore, Mr. Dennehy is recovering,
and will appear in the two scheduled performances today-Wednesday,
February 18, at 12 noon and 7:30pm. 

In related good news for the show, Goodman announced Feb. 20 that Desire Under the Elms, directed by Robert Falls, will transfer to Broadway, with previews April 14, full opening April 27 at the St. James Theatre. The original cast will stay intact.

When is ‘Coming Out’ necessary

When Rob Huberman came out to the Chicago Sun-Times during an interview about taking over as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, it was not a shock or even news to most in the gay community. [See Yasmin Nair's comprehensive Windy City Times cover story here.]

Huberman’s open secret was not really even a secret, certainly not on the par with previous closeted government officials. Huberman had been involved with gay and AIDS groups for years, including as a police officer, as the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, and while president of the Chicago Transit Authority. But Huberman would never officially “come out” for the media. 

Windy City Times asked him numerous times. He always demurred. 

I was never sure why, since everyone who is politically active, and certainly his ongoing boss Mayor Richard M. Daley, knew he was gay. Daley has had gays and lesbians in some of his top spots, so Huberman had nothing to fear from the guy signing his checks. As his jobs have taken him further into the spotlight, the issue became even more relevant. 

But I do not believe in outing unless the person is a hypocrite, along the lines of an anti-gay senator tapping his toes for a male undercover officer or a homophobic preacher paying for a male prostitute. Huberman was never a hypocrite, and in fact he has served on the board of the AIDS agency Chicago House and he was supportive of efforts to bring the Gay Games to Chicago. 

Like similar closeted appointed and elected officials in Chicago (and there are many), Huberman presented a dilemma for us. When is someone’s sexuality truly “news.” There was a now-former citywide elected official who was a lesbian. She was not out, but certainly she was very pro-gay, and she brought her girlfriend to community events. So we never outed her. Should we have? Was Huberman’s sexuality news when he first took the helm of the CTA, one of the largest transportation agencies in the world? The same when he took on head of the schools? If he ran for alderman or mayor? 

When does he step into the public spotlight far enough for it to matter? 

Well, it may be that with the schools post, he knew that the right wing was breathing down his neck. They hate the idea of gay role models for children, so unlike when he was at CTA, they were gunning for him when Daley announced him for the Chicago Public Schools post. 

But he was able to control it--he came out on his own terms, even if it was not in the gay media, which had honored his privacy for many years. It angered me, because we at Windy City Times had asked him many times--but at least he did finally come out. 

For me, someone who has been out all of my adult life, it is hard to understand how the closet still attracts so many. Huberman’s closet was large, that’s for sure, but it was still a closet, one where he never officially came out to the public at large. He was out to family, friends and probably most colleagues and the mayor. Does it matter that the public did not know? 

My feeling about the closet is this: While LGBT kids are still being beat up or kicked out of their homes, while LGBT parents still lose custody, while bosses still fire LGBTs, while LGBT soldiers are kicked out of the military, and while so many laws still discriminate against us, being out is our front line of defense. The more we are out, the more of us who come out, the more we pave an easier road for the generations coming out behind us. So Huberman is a role model, and especially now in his new post, it does matter. Being out as a gay man does matter. 

So thank you Ron, for taking that step out of your big closet. You still look fabulous, and now everyone will know why.